


Conduct

by poisonwithtrash



Category: EXAPUNKS
Genre: Body Horror, Gen, Mind Control, body control, in a broad sense at least
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27213103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisonwithtrash/pseuds/poisonwithtrash
Summary: Is a friend really a friend if they don't reprogram your nervous system?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Conduct

People say the phage ruins you, but that only betrays a lack of imagination. Sure it may have eaten away at your limbs, your major organs, and even sometimes your brain, forcing you to hack your own body into basic functionality countless times, but who’s to say there can’t be perks? In a seemingly hopeless situation, sometimes the best you can do is have a good time with it.  
  
It was this line of reasoning that led you to where you are now, reclining in your desk chair covered in probes and wires. Predictably, EMBER-2 was all about the idea, hungry as it is for data on unique human experiences. It helped you set up the many nerve interfaces connecting you to your computer, and agreed to facilitate communication with the EXAPUNKS chat while you’re indisposed.  
  
Moving is difficult, but at least the phage never got to your eyes. You can still see the chat and debug interface just fine.

deadlock || i’m super excited you’re back Moss but damn  
deadlock || not quite how i was expecting your grand return to go  
x10x10x || never knew you were such a weirdo  
=plastered || be nice x10 they’ve been through a lot of shit  
NthDimension || wait so who is Moss again?  
=plastered || you kids wouldn’t know Moss  
=plastered || dropped out of the scene before your time  
mutex8021 || so they’re like some kinda mysterious celebrity??

It’s so strange to see the chat acknowledge you after so many years of lurking. There’s nostalgia, but also a small sense of pride in interacting with some new members. It’s nice to see Ghast’s ideals in action, to have younger people ready to take up the torch.  
  
But you’re not ready to drop that torch just yet, which is why everyone is here in the first place.

Moss || This is EMBER-2. From here on, I’ll be handling communication on Moss’ behalf.  
mutex8021 || wish i had an ai to help ME with stuff…  
Moss || If you ever come down with the phage, feel free to give me a ring. Moss knows where to find me.  
x10x10x || i got dominant arm  
x10x10x || most complex  
x10x10x || let the best take care of it  
=plastered || suuuure  
hydroponix || just make sure that competitive edge doesn’t get Moss killed  
=plastered || i’ll get non-dominant arm i guess  
x10x10x || oh please Moss is gonna worship me after this  
Moss || Just chiming in to say that Moss worshipping anyone is highly unlikely.  
x10x10x || stfu  
hydroponix || ghast did you want a leg? aren’t you guys friends or smth  
Ghast || i’m the referee, just like at haxtasy  
hydroponix || oh right duh  
deadlock || i’ll be right leg  
deadlock || one more spot  
deadlock || who wants it?  
mutex8021 || me! can i have left leg? or does it gotta be someone Moss knew?  
Moss || Moss gave prior consent to participation by any EXAPUNKS member.  
selenium_wolf || fine by me if you want in  
selenium_wolf || i’d be way too nervous  
mutex8021 || sweet!!  
hydroponix || best of luck all  
x10x10x || you’ll need it

The rules are simple. One limb each, first to restore functionality wins. The catch is that the programs will be running continuously the whole time, otherwise there’d be too much human error involved to know who finished first. You’ll be feeling any edits, any debugging, any test runs in real time. No telling what’ll happen or how you’ll feel while it happens. You’re nervous, but at the same time it gives you a rush like you haven’t felt in a long time. Nothing to make you feel alive like having the life hacked back into you by people you care about.

Ghast || everyone ready?  
selenium_wolf || this is so weird but so cool  
NthDimension || ngl i’m kinda jealous  
NthDimension || using your own body as a hacker battle arena is so metal  
hydroponix || save your starry eyes for when we know Moss isn’t in horrible agony the whole time  
Moss || Everyone’s hooked up and in position. Looks like we’re ready to go!  
Ghast || cool. let’s have a fair fight. this one’s for Moss. on your marks, get set...  
[Ghast blows a bullhorn like the one at haxtasy]

Your limbs lose sensation all at once as EMBER-2 terminates the EXAs running them. Everything is still. Obviously it’d take them a moment to write any programs. Not like anyone’s seen inside your nervous system before now.

NthDimension || how do i know what that sounds like if i still can’t get in!  
[Ghast entreats you to use your imagination]  
selenium_wolf || it’s no different than any other bullhorn

The banter probably continues, but other things soon grab your attention. An intense tingling itchiness creeps its way up your arm. The EXAs are running again. But are they doing their job?  
  
You try to flex your fingers. Only your pinky moves. After a second, your ring finger, then your middle finger, and so on. Probably some sort of rounding error. Leave it to x10 to demand the most complex system and immediately make a rookie mistake.  
  
It isn’t long before all four limbs are buzzing with activity. It’s not quite as painful as you expected, but it’s just as unsettling. A leg twitches to the left. You try to move it back and it kicks instead. You try to bend your arm and the muscles flex backwards, straining against the bones of your elbow. An arm and a leg start shaking uncontrollably. You try to flex your toes and your fingers flex. You flex your fingers and your toes flex. What? How could they have possibly messed up that badly?  
  
“Oops. That’s my bad. I’ll get it fixed right away.”  
  
EMBER-2 is as casual as ever. It’s probably loving all this data. But it didn’t lie, and after a moment your limbs’ antics are once again self-contained.  
  
Your time living with the phage has gotten you accustomed to your body losing functionality, but your body acting on its own in unforeseen, unpredictable ways is an entirely new sensation. After several minutes, it becomes difficult to differentiate your own intent from what the EXAs are telling your muscles. Was that foot twitch the result of a coding error? Or was it just you, reeling from a sharp pain in your thigh? The fingers on one hand start to flex and it takes a few seconds to realize you aren’t telling it to do that. Is =p messing with you? Well, what else did you expect when you made yourself a hacker collective’s new toy? At least you didn’t give any of them access to your heart.  
  
“Hey, I’m detecting some weird activity. I could try to stop it, but I’d need to shut down the whole battle. For now I’ll just keep an eye on it.”  
  
Hard to imagine what kind of activity EMBER-2 would deem “weird” given everything it gets up to constantly, but nothing feels off in a way you weren’t expecting. You’re pretty sure EMBER-2 wo...n’t.......let......you.........die.........or........anyth......ing.......  
  
Time warps, the world around you slows, sensation from your feral limbs dulls. Your thoughts happen slowly, as if bottlenecked. It’s difficult to even wonder what’s happening when forming a single thought takes so much time and effort. Every time you try, your mind seems to lose the thread halfway through.  
  
You think you can feel a leg finally settle down, or maybe an arm? Maybe both. Everything is so staticy.  
  
Soon, thinking at all becomes too much effort. For a few minutes, you drift, your body’s rogue movements the only thing keeping you anchored to yourself. The last thing you remember is the muscles of your head, neck, and torso all relaxing at once, sending you down into a deep slumber.

  


\----------------

  


Moss || Hey everyone, they’re finally awake.  
hydroponix || i’ve never even heard of anyone having so many exas in one system  
deadlock || Moss!! you’re alive!!  
Moss || Their life was never in danger. They just fell asleep, though I still don’t know why.

You tentatively bend your arms, flex your fingers, kick your legs. Everything seems to be in order. Your thoughts seem to be happening at a normal speed again. Your fingers are a bit stiff, but what better way to break them in than with typing.

Moss || it’s me again. yeah i’m awake. that was a wild ride.  
=plastered || what happened, did you pass out or what?  
hydroponix || i was telling them that the huge amount of exa activity probably overloaded you. was i right?  
Moss || just one thing first. who figured out i have exas in my brain?  
deadlock || you have WHAT  
Moss || it’s been years. of course it got to parts of my brain.  
Moss || and i have a feeling someone here figured that out and managed to get access during the battle.  
Moss || maybe implemented some wait cycles between signal transmission.  
Moss || anyone?  
=plastered || that is fucked up  
x10x10x || wish i’d thought of that  
x10x10x || i was too busy crushing the competition  
selenium_wolf || yeah we know  
deadlock || mute seems a lil sus  
mutex8021 || it.....may have been me  
mutex8021 || i’m really sorry!  
mutex8021 || i just got soooo excited about meeting you and when i found a backdoor to your brain i couldn’t resist  
Ghast || how the hell did you get that by me??  
Moss || no need to be sorry. i mean probably ask first next time but either way, good job.  
mutex8021 || next time??  
Ghast || my spectator software isn’t built for this shit  
Moss || if you were able to use my brain exas to put me to sleep that easily, i’m curious to see what else you could do  
Moss || if you’d be down for some experimentation  
mutex8021 || omg???  
deadlock || maybe Moss IS a weirdo  
deadlock || still a super cool weirdo though  
x10x10x || wtf i want in on this  
hydroponix || you can’t just leave me out of LITERAL MIND CONTROL

There’s no stopping the phage. It’ll just keep creeping across your entire body, eventually taking over more and more of your brain. But no matter how many programs need to be written to keep you afloat, you have a feeling you’ll be in good hands.


End file.
